THE SUCCESSFUL NEGOTIATION of the Faroe Islands-sized road block was never going to be enough to simmer the seething cauldron of speculation regarding Giovanni Trapattoni’s future as Ireland manager.
So it proved in Montrose as RTÉ’s pundits tore into each other in a debate of the Italian’s job prospects.
Eamon Dunphy kicked off the discussion, after Ireland won 4-1, by declaring, “Tonight was as much an indictment of him as a failure as Germany (Ireland lost 6-1) was.”
Dunphy highlighted the fact that ‘left out or blocked’ players such as James McCarthy, Seamus Coleman and Marc Wilson had starred in the away win.
Liam Brady, who was an assistant coach under Trapattoni in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, countered that Ireland were in the wilderness for 10 years before they made it, with the Italian, to Euro 2012.
Dunphy declared, “You don’t pick fights in public with players.”
He then listed the names of Darron Gibson, Steven Reid and Shane Long as players that have fallen foul of Trapattoni in recent years.
“He has contributed massively to a loss of credibility in himself,” Dunphy added.
Looking ridiculous
Brady believes that the current debate over Trapattoni’s position is similar to 2002 when Mick McCarthy ‘was hounded out of a job’ with Ireland.
The former Ireland and Arsenal midfielder also expressed his disgust at an Irish Independent headline and article that labelled Trapattoni ‘shameless’. He proclaimed:
This guy knows what he is doing. We’re on track to qualify (for the World Cup). We’ll look ridiculous to the rest of the football world if we sack this man.”
Former Ireland captain and manager John Giles entered the discussion by remarking, “I wouldn’t care about the rest of the football world.”
Giles said Trapattoni has ‘an obligation to do the best job possible’ and Ireland were “abysmal” at Euro 2012.
“I think it is time for him to go, regardless of the results.”
You can see some of the post-match RTÉ debate here [H/T balls.ie]:
YouTube credit: RDinHD
I think RTE should make these 3 amigos pay per view-quality TV again!
Old white haired/bald men arguing with each other?
Pay per view?!? Nooo!
If it’s too expensive to fire Trap, we should hire a new manager anyway and demote Trap to assistant. I’m sure he would walk away then.
Well Said Liam Brady
Amazing the way if you stand up to Dunphy and Giles for what you believe in, they quickly look like unsure stuttering fools. I don’t agree with Brady but fair play to him for not blindly joining the populist “Trap out” brigade and sticking to his guns.
Brady, Sadlier and Cunningham to be the future for irish soccer pundits. Dunphy and Giles as usual were grasping at straws tonight.
i don’t believe that. Yes the 3 points is all that matters but it’s the style of play that people are getting sick of. Long, James McClean, Clarke……..better style of football is what we need and is what we’re capable of.
I think you’ll find the last time saddler was on the panel he made Brady look churlish and foolish.its not about sacking trap it’s about how he goes or should I say doesn’t go about his job. Peripheral players aren’t getting a look in and some of his team choices are questionable
Got to be said the 4-1 result over the Faroes does not paper over the cracks in the team. I am not on the Trap out band wagon, I have been calling for him to go after the 1st year in charge.
His time has come and past. Realistically speaking look at the other results tonight, Sweden came from 4-0 down to earn a draw, that is a team that doesn’t give up. I didn’t once see a hint of us coming back against Germany. The bad news is that was in Germany when they gave up the 4-0 lead, we have to go to Germany and welcome the Swede’s and go to Sweden also.
At this moment in time, even if Trap is given Das Boot, I am not quite sure how we are going to negotiate these tough fixtures. I would be more confident with a new manager in place however that will allow us to play football, rather than one that believes a draw first.
This is a worrying time for Irish football…. but honestly the best way forward I can see is either we all get on board with Trap and hope for the best, or we look to actively take control of this qualifying group, install a new manager and let the guys play. It will be tough I’m not going to lie to anyone, but at least we can bring through some talent and look towards the future.
Not 100% sure where to go with this one, I am still leaning towards Trap to go and a new manager, however I could understand the argument to keep him and give him one more chance in the next round. The friendlies (If Trap survives that long) will tell us a lot. If we don’t see new talent being brought into the fold here, I would be very worried about our qualification prospects.
Another one not after jumping on the band wagon, was calling for him to go even after we qualified, we went to the euros with 9 players in either championship or with no club, while 6 Irishmen were starting for their premier league clubs never got a look in! Time to get someone in who wont piss off home after last night because they’ve been almost a week away from home. He should be heading to Norwich, villa reading, looking at these players that should be getting a chance to prove their worth in November!
Not committed to the squad, got the job on the back of a great cv, but that shouldn’t still hold now. If he doesn’t go the FAI have nobody to blame but themselves, gave him a new contract before the euros, when he still had time on the contract he has. One of the highest paid managers in international football, feck even Dennis O’Brien is paying half his wages cos the FAI can’t afford him.
You would get alot of managers that would take the job for less money and give the job a lot more effort.
Time to say ciao trap!
Liam Brady has been successful for X amount of years despite looking like a tractor tyre with a slow puncture
Now now! there’s no call for that, insulting a tractor tyre in such manor. Puncture can be repaired u’know.
A comment that few of the media picked up on after the Germany game….*paraphrasing* Trap: “the German team is a team of 11 champions league players,a win was going to be difficult” yet he leaves one of the premier league’s in-form strikers in Shane Long on the bench! Long should be one of the first names on the sheet!!!!
Take a moment …… Chill pill everyone.
4-1 is a great result!
Media will brainwash you.
Trap out? OK. …
But then what?
Leave him at it (Dunphy loved him) and we can qualify 2nd (maybe first) and Trap ain’t stupid …. Experience will tell?
All you EXPERTS …. could be wrong?
COYBIG
Sshhh! 4-1 against that opposition is routine, a 6-1 defeat at home to anyone is diabolical. Trap doesn’t go to see the players playing for their clubs, nuff said.
We can qualify maybe first? Are u serious? Do u know about the German match last Friday?? We just bet a team, captained by a bank official, ranked about 130 places below us. Your comment is ridiculous.
Dunphy & giles out!
Ah bill!!
ya can’t be saying that, c’mon now bill!!!
eh newsflash Liam! we already looked ridiculous to the football world twice before in the space of 2 years! the first when no hope Delaney begged fifa to be an extra team in the world cup! They literally laughed at us. The second was the Euros.
TV gold
the 3 wise men we are not worthy,if you watched souness when he was on he couldn’t believe the brutality of there comments,watch souness on sky and he’s meek as a lamb,there the best pundits by a mile
Brady 100% correct, qualifying for previous championships was the goal, not getting the Irish team to play Brazilian style football, Trap did well with meager resources player wise,..& as for Sadlier, I really hope RTE don’t see him as a successor to Giles,Brady or Dunphy, Bill & the trio are miles ahead of anything SKY, ITV, BBC or TV3 can offer.
ROI might be going through a rough patch/era but this panel isn’t. Love or hate them these guys are TV gold (loive!). Contrasted last night against the yawn fest over on ITV of Gareth Southgate, Roy Keane, Adrian Childes etc who among the pearls of wisdom they imparted actually said “the game might be played in a day’s time in that case it could well take place within the next 24 hours”….no s*** Sherlock (s). Long live the Bill, the Brady, Gilsey and Dunphy (who I would also love to see doing a bit of GAA punditary some day…Dunphy, Brolly & Spillane…classic…
The RTE coverage post-match is usually far more entertaining than the match itself, it’s the only post-match analysis I would watch on any channel, hearing the banal clichés and play it safe punditry on ITV and BBC, and to a lesser extent Sky Sports is a major turn-off. Having said that, as a Liverpool fan, the last two years has completely changed my view of Gary Neville, I think he is very good and far more insightful than Andy Gray ever was. I am almost sure that Souness said that being on the panel at RTE was a shock initially but also a massive breath of fresh air, he couldn’t believe his luck being able to actually say what he felt, but probably took it too far when he said Torres r**ed Vidic live on tv.
After we qualified for the Euros, After we qualified for the Euros, After we qualified for the Euros. I used to be a parrot but I’m cured now, . I used to be a parrot but I’m cured now.
Would just about survive in the Blue Square Conference 1st Division.
Brady 1-0 Dunphy.
Sorry but winning over some team most of us never heard of is no big win, I want to see Ireland winning over the big ones and Trapatoni is not doing that, we look ridiculous having him and always losing, I think he should be sacked big time!!
We should sack Trap and not because of the german result,last night proved everybody but trap right,we have some decent pros who can play well if given a chance to express themselves…and Trap has held these players back,imagine if he picked our best players in a modern fluid formation?things could be very different and positive,he has ruined his own reputation at the euros and further damaged it since then,if he wants to survive he must select premier league regulars,in short pick our best players.clark ireland long kelly hoolahan should all start v greece next month.
the 3 wise men we are not worthy,if you watched souness when he was on he couldn’t believe the brutality of there comments,watch souness on sky and he’s meek as a lamb,there the best pundits by a mile.
Imagine that behaviour on utv or bbc, Chiles would shit himself
For Gods sake, will Dunphy ever get off our screens, how many more years of this dick head have I to tolerate.
I am a bit dissapointed with Giles to be honest… and I think in general he is brilliant, but after the Kazakstan game he was joining in with Brady ganging up against Richie Sadlier, but last night he about-turned and hooked up with Dunphy’s point of view against Brady. As the “Senior Analyst” you would have thought he would be above this sort of thing.